Congratulations Huron County

Published 8:00 pm, Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Thank the Lord: No more political ads on the radio and television or political robocalls. No more packed mail boxes filled with political mailers paid and approved by official candidate committees. And even better, no more mailings filled with lies and mud-slinging propaganda funded by special interests who really have no concern for or viable stake in the future of the Thumb.

We’re all celebrating for that, that’s for sure.

And now, in the days following Tuesday’s election, state officials are celebrating too, because “a continued emphasis on voter outreach and participation was an important factor in making this election a success,” as Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land phrased it in a statement issued Wednesday.

That statement said, about 45 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s midterm election. Talk about a success!

But never mind that it was estimated statewide voter turnout would be 52 percent, or that Huron County’s unofficial numbers show local turnout was low compared to previous elections. But hey, the 48.78 percent turnout in Huron County was higher than the estimated statewide turnout, right?

Talk about a success!

Yes, 3.8 million out of 7.28 million registered Michigan voters came out to the polls Tuesday. In Huron County, 12,786 out of 25,254 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.

Say what you want about the turnout, but we hardly call that a success.

Some say the weather affects turnout, but weather was no excuse Tuesday, as it was, for November, a pretty nice day.

Others blame apathy for causing some to stay home, and that’s probably one of the biggest driving forces, save from the fact many weren’t happy with any of the candidates running for office and others were disheartened by all the political rhetoric and mudslinging.

Well, congratulations Huron County, it’s over (at least for two more years).

The election’s over and the voters have spoken (less than half of them, that is).